RANCHO DOMINGUEZ, Calif.—As if it wasn't enough
that CellMax bioreactors from Spectrum Laboratories are going into space in
early April, the technology is actually being used in two separate science
experiments, not just one.

So, the bioreactors will find themselves in low
earth orbit, with the first experiment set to
evaluate embryonic stem cell
differentiation in space—with an eye toward providing data about wound healing
and tissue regeneration. Principal
investigator Dr. Eduardo Almeida of NASA
will be using a specially designed polypropylene CellMax bioreactor for that
experiment.

Spectrum Laboratories worked closely with Almeida
and Honolulu, Hawaii-based Tissue Genesis Inc. to create a custom housing for
the
bioreactor. Packaging the experiments is a critical issue on the Space
Shuttle, Spectrum Labs reports, and the new housing needed to take up as little
space as possible. Spectrum engineers reportedly designed the specs and built
the new housing in less than 10 days in order to meet the very tight
experiment
development schedule.

The second experiment, using a stock bioreactor,
will
investigate bacterial infection of mammalian epithelial cells in space.
This experiment, developed by Principal investigator Dr. Cheryl Nickerson of
Arizona State University, is aimed at
exploring how human cells respond to
bacterial infections in space and if the normal processes of infection seen on
Earth occur in the space
environment.

This second experiment follows up and expands on
work done in past space-based
experiments, as well as in simulated microgravity
conditions on Earth. The spaceflight microgravity environment, however, is said
to be much better
than ground-based simulations to determine the effects of
spaceflight on living systems. The testing will use a polyethylene CellMax
bioreactor to
cultivate the infections.

"We at
Spectrum Labs are very proud to participate in these two
experiments that
promise to help us understand not only how cells function in microgravity, but
how this information could be use for the discovery of
novel therapeutics," says
Parag Patel, product manager for Spectrum's CellMax bioreactors.

Prep
work for the experiments will be completed
the day before the launch. The experiments will be then loaded on the space shuttle
Discovery for its 13-day
mission into space.

Since 1970, Spectrum Laboratories has developed
and manufactured innovative products for bioseparation and
cell line
management. The company's products are used for filtration, isolation,
purification and concentration of pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, food,
beverages
and industrial fluids.

Commander Alan Poindexter is set to lead the
STS-131 shuttle
mission to the space station. Joining Poindexter will be pilot
Jim Dutton and mission specialists Rick Mastracchio, Clay Anderson, Dorothy
Metcalf-
Lindenburger and Stephanie Wilson, plus mission specialist Naoko
Yamazaki, an astronaut in the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, who will be
making her first-ever journey into space.

Shuttle Discovery's mission includes three planned
spacewalks, with work to include replacing an ammonia tank assembly at the
space station, retrieving a Japanese experiment from the station's
exterior,
and switching out a rate gyro assembly on the S0 segment of the station's truss
structure.